The International Legal Obligations owed to the Asylum Seekers on the MV Tampa

Abstract

For over one week, 433 asylum seekers, travelling from Indonesia, remained on the Norwegian-registered MV Tampa off the coast of Western Australia, awaiting permission to land in Australia. This Article explores the international legal obligations owed to the asylum seekers and argues that although Indonesia and Norway had certain responsibilities to the asylum seekers, Australia was in a better position to assist. However, instead of providing immediate humanitarian assistance and temporary refuge, the Australian Government arranged for the asylum seekers to be taken to Nauru and New Zealand, in order to have their asylum claims processed. This Article concludes that although the Australian Government complied with Article 33 of the Refugee Convention, its actions raise serious concerns relating to its obligations under customary international human rights and refugee law. Furthermore, the actions of the Australian Government violated the asylum seekers` fundamental right to seek asylum and undermined the international refugee protection regime.